1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to surgical retractors, and, more particularly, to an abdominal retractor assembly configured for maintaining access to a cavity within the human abdomen after insertion therein during intra-abdominal surgery while minimizing trauma to the surrounding soft tissue, nerves and vessels.
2. Description of Related Art
In the medical field, retractors are used to hold tissue away from the operative area to improve exposure during surgical procedures. Surgical retractors, namely abdominal retractors, are typically inserted within abdominal incisions during surgery to forcibly enlarge the area of incision and facilitate access within the abdomen. Rigid metal retractors comprising implements formed of, e.g., stainless steel, are well-known, having the advantage of being durable as well as being easy to sterilize and sanitize for repeated surgical use.
Retractors may be held by an assistant (manual retractors) or utilize counter-pressure from other tissue (self-retaining retractors) to maintain proper placement. Numerous self-retaining as well as manual retractors, typically made of metal, are known, some examples being the O'Conner-O'Sullivan retractor, and the Balfour, Bookwalter, Heaney, Deaver and Richardson retractors. During a typical use, metal retractors are placed at opposing edges of a linear incision and are caused to move away from each other to effectuate incision expansion.
Rigid metal retractors however, can be a cause for concern when used in certain surgical procedures, in particular, those requiring surgical incision within the abdominal/pelvic area, due to the risk of further trauma, compression or injury to the surrounding delicate soft tissue with its abundant network of vessels and nerves.
While retractors composed of non-metal materials are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,832, such retractors are typically constructed to be rigid and resistant to deformation.
Alternate types of retractors include an adjustable retractor such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,033,319 composed of an inner and outer ring connected by an elongate sleeve, which is configured for expanding incisions in a circular shape. Further, a deformable retractor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,791 which is structured for retracting a linear incision and forming the surrounding tissue into a generally circular configuration.
However, retractors having a rigid, non-deformable construction and/or which forcibly expand a surgical incision into a predetermined shape may be undesirable for certain surgical procedures and present the risk of undue injury or trauma to the delicate soft tissue underlying the area of the incision. In particular, some conventional retractors appear to contribute to postoperative femoral neuropathy, namely femoral nerve injury, in patients undergoing abdominal/pelvic surgery, due to direct compression of the femoral nerve during use and placement.
One of the main post-operative complications caused by intra-abdominal surgery is bowel ileus, which causes severe injury to the patient and long hospital stays. In addition, pulmonary embolism is a serious concern which causes a high number of deaths because of small and large blood clots due to vascular stasis, bowel packs left within the incision, or from rigid retractors.
Accordingly, a need exists for a surgical retractor for effectively expanding an incision site while minimizing trauma to the surrounding tissues, nerves and vessels and potential morbidity resulting therefrom.